No tariffs?
The prince began to doubt his own ears.
The claim was as absurd as saying the Holy See did not collect tithes.
Without tariffs, how would the ports be maintained? How would the government function?
The fleet and the Harbor Guard were both bottomless pits that devoured Leo's money. Blood Port had prospered precisely because it levied sufficient taxes on maritime merchants.
He could understand collecting less, perhaps, but if there were no tariffs at all, where would the money come from?
Seeing the prince's baffled expression, Theus could not help but laugh.
It seemed he could give this world a little shock with finance.
Never mind that this era still used metallic currency—even in modern times, with credit currency, as long as markets were opened up, industrial nations could easily seize control of other countries' economic lifelines by dumping industrial goods.
Metallic currency?
A trade deficit could directly drain an entire nation of its silver and gold.
Theus had little interest in precious metals, but he cared greatly about mineral veins and forests.
As long as the market was opened, Castel could easily use an invisible hand to turn every other nation into its own mines and producers of raw materials.
Hehe, behold Hayek's Mage Hand.
"This is only a preliminary proposal. The specific measures will be formulated gradually, and everything is negotiable. When all the incentives are put into effect, there will only be more than what I said, never less," Theus promised.
The prince stood there in a daze for a while, pondering it hard. In the end, he sighed. "All right. It seems I'll once again witness a miracle of Castel in another field—let's just hope the outcome isn't too terrible."
If you sat down at the table without knowing who would pay the